


The Many Different Kinds of Love

by smergrl3495



Category: RWBY
Genre: And finally being happy in the end, Basically a sad man falling in love multiple times, F/M, Falling In Love, Heartbreak, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smergrl3495/pseuds/smergrl3495
Summary: Taiyang and his reflection on the various loves and losses throughout his life, and how he chooses to deal with that going forward.





	The Many Different Kinds of Love

**Author's Note:**

> So I have loved Taiyang since the very first time he was mentioned, and since then have loved pretty much every ship having to do with him, as I just want this sad, sad man to be happy! After finding maracamilkshake on tumblr and reading through her TaiQrow tag I was inspired to write this little fic, so if you enjoyed please go check out their Tumblr page. We'll keep this ship going no matter what!

With Raven it had been a promise spoken in the softest of nights; her laid out on top of him, spent and glowing with passion. Soft, whispered words that she spoke as if with fear that someone would hear her and take this happiness away. She had always been so guarded, even around her own teammates, but in these moments he felt as if he truly knew her.

They would just lay there, talking about anything and everything. How they felt, their plans for the future, even secrets that at any other time they would dare not share. He learned more about her in these few and far between moments than he had in years training side by side, and each time they made him fall deeper and deeper in love with her.

His beautiful Raven, as majestic and graceful as the bird that she shared her name with, and ten times as deadly. And yet, he offered up his heart each and every time, and was rewarded with her own. To this day, he could remember each and every whispered word. Every look and fond touch. Every kiss and gesture. Even now, he held them close to his heart, as if to reassure himself that he had indeed been loved, at least at one time.

She was never one to stand for ceremony, so when the time came around that their friends were getting married, they both abstained. She had once told him on one of those beautiful, peaceful nights that they didn't need white dresses and rings to prove their love. That such a sweet and untainted thing was something to be shared by them and them alone.

The day that he had woken up by himself, her side of the bed cold and Yang crying from her cradle at the foot of the bed, he found himself wishing for something a little more concrete and stable.

With Summer their love was just as passionate, but also loud and boisterous as the woman herself. Summer loved with everything that she had. She never hid it, and nothing could ever change the way that she felt. She would always be talking or moving about. Holding him or Yang, talking about their lives and their future together, or simply dancing with him across the kitchen floor.

When he finally worked up the nerve to propose, worried that she would back out once she realized who she faced spending the rest of her life with, she had been ecstatic. If he pictured it on a night where his head was clear he would swear he could still feel her arms around him and how she had nearly radiated her joy and excitement.

In the days leading up to their wedding she had been practically buzzing with energy; moving around at lightning quick speeds as she helped him get everything ready. All that hard work was worth it though, as he’d never seen a sight more lovely than her walking down the aisle, white dress contrasting perfectly with the rose petals scattered at her feet. As he held her that night he was sure that he had never felt such a powerful love before. One that was capable of encompassing his entire being, and when he was no longer capable of holding it back, he laid himself out for her fully in way that he had never done before or since.

Soon enough though, she was gone too, though this time it wasn’t her choice to leave him. No, this time life and circumstance ripped her from his arms and all he had left to remember that wonderful, vulnerable, powerful love was the little girl in his arms that shared her face. It had taken a while for him to recover. Too long, as when he finally broke free of his grief he realized that he had left his daughters to suffer alone. He had left the girls that he loved with what as left of his heart alone with their own grief. Well, he supposed not exactly alone…

They had with them the one stable person he had left. The one person who throughout it all had been a confidant and a shoulder to lean on. Someone who could pick him up off the floor in the middle of the night when he was so out of his own head that he didn’t know where he was. Even when he had finally gotten a hold on himself long enough to realize where he was, Qrow hadn’t stopped helping him. 

The other man had held him in his arms as he cried, and had looked after the girls when he couldn’t. That would have been more than he could have ever asked for, but it didn’t stop there. He was there for him, on good days and bad. When he was happy to help out and joke and laugh as they always had, and when all he wanted to do was curl up and stop existing for a while. Qrow never left. And even when he did, eventually, have to go he always came back.

And though Tai’s heart had taken a beating; having loved and lost twice before, he found the strength to try one more time. To love, and to trust that this time, this time would be different. That he would be able to hold the person he cared about close, and that he wouldn’t wake up once more alone. He didn’t think he could take it for a third time.

Qrow, though he would never admit it, was much like his sister in a lot of ways. They were secretive, and often took the whole world on their shoulders. They hated asking for or accepting help, as they had been taught it was weakness. And they both at the same time craved and rejected any happiness that came their way, as they knew all too well how easy it was for it to be taken away.

He and Qrow never got married. Though Summer was gone, she would always be his wife, and he couldn’t bear to let go of that. Thankfully Qrow understood, though he imagined that part of that was that the other man hadn’t wanted to go through the fuss of a ceremony, again much like his sister. Unlike Raven though, Qrow wanted something tangible. Something real that showed that he was wanted; that there was someone who loved him and wanted him to come home.

They’d ended up going with tattoos. As cliché as it was, they decided on getting the other’s name permanently placed over their hearts. It signified a truth that they both held dear; that even though they were both broken, and had been hurt more times than they could count, they were both willing to commit themselves to each other. It was a promise that no matter what, their love for each other was real and true, and nothing could change that.

Now each time before Qrow left on whatever mission Ozpin deemed important, they would kiss and embrace tightly. The last touch that they would have though was putting their hand on their partner’s heart, right over those inked names. That way, whenever they needed to be reminded as to why they kept going, they could put a hand to their chest, and feel the warmth the other man had left there. So even though they were often apart, they knew they were never truly alone.


End file.
